Browse all Events, Entries, Images, Videos, and Audio Files in the Antebellum Time Period.
Philip Kearny
June 2, 1815 – September 1, 1862 Philip Kearny was a prominent Union general who was killed in action at the Battle of Chantilly during the American Civil War. Philip Kearny (pronounced CAR-nee) was born on June 2, 1815, in New York, New York. He was the son of Philip Kearny, Sr., and Susan Watts…
President Tyler’s Executive Order Appointing Winfield Scott as General of the Army
July 5, 1841 On July 5, 1841 U.S. President John Tyler issued an executive order appointing Major General Winfield Scott as General of the Army. ; GENERAL ORDERS WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, July 5, 1841. Brevet Major-General Winfield Scott having been appointed by the President, by and with the consent and advice of the…
Prigg v. Pennsylvania
March 1, 1842 In 1842, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the preeminence of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 when it declared a Pennsylvania statute unconstitutional in the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania. While upholding the right of slave owners to reclaim fugitive slaves in the North, the court's decision had the unintended effect…
Quantrill’s Raiders
1861–1865 Quantrill's Raiders was a band of Confederate irregulars that employed guerrilla tactics to ambush Union army patrols and terrorize Northern sympathizers, primarily in Kansas during the Civil War. In some respects, the Civil War began in Kansas and Missouri long before the first salvo was fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Nearly…
Richard Brooke Garnett
November 21, 1817 – July 3, 1863 In the American Civil War, Confederate Brigadier-General Richard B. Garnett was mortally wounded during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Richard Brooke Garnett was born on November 21, 1817, probably at "Rose Hill," one of his family's three plantations in Essex County, Virginia.…
Richard Kidder Meade
July 21, 1829 – March 18, 1920 A lieutenant in the Union army and later a major in the Confederate army, Richard K. Meade was one of four graduates of the U.S. Military Academy who initially fought for the Union before switching sides during the American Civil War. Richard Kidder Meade was born on July…
Richard Stoddert Ewell
February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872 Richard Stoddert Ewell was a prominent Confederate general during the American Civil War who has been tarnished by questions about his performance on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Richard Stoddert Ewell was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1817. Raised on his family's…
Richard Strother Taylor
January 27, 1826 – April 12, 1879 The son of United States President Zachary Taylor, Richard Taylor was a prominent Confederate general in the Eastern and Western theaters of the American Civil War Richard Taylor was born on January 27, 1826, near Louisville, Kentucky, on his family's plantation, "Springfield." He was the youngest child and…
Rienzi
1860-1878 During the American Civil War, Rienzi was Union General Philip Sheridan’s favorite horse. This steed’s exploits became immortalized in prose and also helped President Abraham Lincoln win reelection in 1864. In 1862, Union cavalry forces under the command of General Philip Sheridan, a native of Ohio, passed through the town of Rienzi, Mississippi. Members…
Robert Anderson
June 14, 1805 – October 26, 1871 Commander of Fort Sumter during the engagement that started the American Civil War, Robert Anderson also served as commander of the Department of the Cumberland in 1861. Robert Anderson was born on June 14, 1805 on his family's plantation, "Soldier's Retreat," near Louisville, Kentucky. He was the son…